Category : Lifehacks

You’re an entrepreneur, and you need to travel for your business, but you don’t know what you need to do for your venture to be a success. Nobody wants to waste money on a failed trip and the time spent on such a journey is irreplaceable so maximizing both time and money is important.

Sure, you’re on a business trip and success is on your mind but all is for naught if your safety is compromised. It isn’t smart to go in with total disregard of your health just for the sake of landing a great deal.

Here are four smart travel tips for today’s smart entrepreneurs:

Do Your Research

You’ll need to know where exactly you’re going to instead of just the location’s name. Find out what’s the custom of the land, the cultural norms, the political situation, the safe and dangerous areas, and the local dialect. It is advantageous to know the details of your destination as it allows you to communicate with your potential business partners without unintentionally offending them, participate in local activities to gain the trust of the people, avoid conflict with politically-inclined people, evade dangerous spots, and talk with other people when purchasing items or when there’s an emergency.

Traveling without knowing anything about your destination spells trouble as you’d compromise your safety by unknowingly going to a dangerous area, trusting opportunists, and disrespecting the locals. Having some knowledge about the foreign land would make your trip more comfortable and secure.

Getting advice from road warriors about traveling and your destination would allow you to strategize on how you can make your time worthwhile in the country you’re visiting.

Use Technology

Using modern technology is a smart move to ensure that you won’t suffer inconveniences during your trip. The internet can be accessed through smartphones using either mobile data or a Wi-Fi hotspot allowing you to book tickets, plan accommodations, and contact clients on-the-go.

There are mobile applications available that can help in navigating while traveling in an unknown land. You can also use the app in knowing whether your ride is using the right route to get to your destination or not.

When accessing the net, it is recommended to use local SIM data or a portable router to minimize the chances of hackers stealing your files. Trusting in public Wi-Fi hotspots are dangerous as other users can potentially see your activity.

Pack Smartly

A smart traveler packs light while carrying everything needed for the trip. Bringing too much means more chances of having your bags misplaced.

Don’t forget to bring clothes, toiletries, laptop, cellphone, business papers, contracts, brochures, and medical supplies along with your travel documents. Packing smartly also means not bringing anything that can give scammers and pickpockets the idea that you’re rich.

Stay on a low profile while being able to transact effectively during business meetings.

Being able to pack smartly requires advanced planning on what you need to bring to your trip. Not planning ahead usually results in overpacking by adding in items “just in case” you need them.

Hire A Chauffeur Car Service

Prioritize your safety and hire a chauffeur car service. A chauffeur can guarantee punctuality and class that would make other business executives think of you positively.

It is never wrong to spend on safety and hiring a chauffeur car service allows you to have a safe, comfortable, and classy trip while being able to catch up on work stress-free. A smart entrepreneur would recognize the value of car services as this would potentially decrease the entrepreneur’s expenses while assuring personal safety.

Seemingly expensive, having a chauffeur would reduce chances of encountering accidents and traffic jams as they skillfully navigate the city while prioritizing your comfort. You can avoid overcharging taxi drivers and unknown ride-sharing service drivers by hiring a professional chauffeur while ensuring security.

A smart traveler and entrepreneur will do everything to keep the trip from being stressful and wasteful and would likely use these tips to assure such.

Jobs are not easy to get these days with a load of studies and the shortage of time. There are few online jobs that can give you the opportunity to manage your life in a better way, facilitating your educational expenses, and be your own leader.

The freelancing industry is gaining huge acceptance on a global scale as it allows the village-dwellers or people from underdeveloped countries to offer their services through online portals and earn great rewards. From DJ’ing to writing, freelance businesses are easy-to-handle and can be managed from the comfort of your home.

Apart from freelancing business, university students have an amazing way to tackle their monetary issues. As university graduates face trouble while repaying their educational loans, they can opt for refinancing their loans to replace with a budget-friendly option. Navigate here to find out how the trick works!

Besides that, you should opt for a freelancing business that you can start today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Most of them do not require exceptional expert level skills and even if they do, you can learn the art online.

1. Virtual Assistance:

Generally, virtual assistants are the ones who are hired to work part-time on different aspects of a business, targeting a particular piece of technology. This type of job will include tasks, such as email, organization, scheduling, bookkeeping, and social media management. And you can earn the money that is up to your mark.

2. Micro-freelancer:

If you have got some creative writing skills and weird ideas then give yourself a chance on “Fiverr” (a website that allows you to earn $5 to $25 per hour). You can also try “Gigbucks” and “Tenbux”. Task rabbit lets you get connected with virtually available odd jobs that will bring in extra money to help you explore the hidden talents that lie within you. Only you have to value your time.

3. Content Writing:

There are numerous freelancing websites that require services of a content writer to write on multiple niches. Just know the area of your interest and find the right platform for you to start working and earning. Apart from writing for a particular website, you can also write as a ghostwriter or for some magazine or newspaper. Having well-honed copywriting skills is an excellent way to get started with owning your own online business. If you are creative enough, writing sales letters can bring in large amounts of cash if you are skilled with email or direct marketing to a list.

4. Manage Social Media Accounts:

You can make adequate income by managing social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) of a particular company. The best part about this sort of job is you do know the way to run a social media account (as you probably have been running your own too). All it takes is a strong internet connection and again a mobile device/PC. Moreover, it offers flexible working hours that is highly suitable even for university students.

5. PowerPoint Presentation Designer:

Many of us have learned to make the presentations on Microsoft PowerPoint during our first semester. So, you can turn your micro skill into the moneymaking machine. When the highly-famed businessmen don’t get the time to prepare their presentations on time, you can easily do it for them and get your assistance paid off. You can earn $5 to $50 per slides. You can get your work started on “Professional Slide Designer”, “Upwork” and “Freelancer”.

The role of a business coach in a new or existing business that’s in the middle of transition is more often than not, overlooked. In fact, many business owners are convinced that investing in a business coach is a complete waste and that it’s an unnecessary aspect of business development. However, most of the people who make these claims are usually unable to build businesses on their own, which results in losing more money than what they could have spent on a coaching service.

The cold hard truth is that most professionals are coached, no matter whether you are an athlete, musician, doctor, entrepreneur or parent. If you’re still on the fence about whether you should avail of business coaching services or not, here are some reasons why you should start your hunt today:

Boosts Business and Executive Performance

There are two ways that a business coach can enhance the performance of a firm. The first is through enhancement which basically involves knowledge acquisition and training to ensure that the relevant individuals in a company are well-equipped for the job. The second is the remediation process where the mindsets and behaviors are enhanced for a unified approach to achieving business goals.

Provides a Sense of Direction

Coaches are valuable assets to a company as they help monitor progress while ascertaining that your business is headed in the right direction. There are short and long paths to achieving business goals. If you wish to reduce the use of your resources, time and money, then you need to search for a shorter path without cutting corners. You can be able to achieve that by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of a business coach.

Business Coaches Provide Guidance

Any business owner knows that are various processes involved when it comes to launching a business. It’s very easy to get your hands full and even easier to sacrifice quality in some aspects. Well, you can avoid doing that by investing in the services of a professional business coach like Scott Duffy. They can handle the backend procedures as you focus on the primary or core elements of the company. This will ensure that the backend work is organized, which ideally helps you meet your deadlines.

Enables You to Refine Your Business Ideas and Gain a Higher Rate of Success

Working on your own can be overwhelming, regardless of the type of business you’re running. In most cases, the initial idea you come up with tends to be implemented immediately. There is usually no consultation as to whether the idea is the best or most profitable to implement. However, with the help of a business mentor who has an advanced MBA Degree, you can discuss these ideas and ultimately, you will have refined or improved ideas before you invest in them.

Gives You a Fresh Perspective on Your Company

Many professionals say that this is the biggest benefit you can get by availing the services of a professional business coach. When attending to the various aspects of your business, it can be hard to be objective in strategizing in regard to the best moves that would help your company move forward. That makes a fresh perspective from a business coach crucial in planning an efficient strategy.

Running a successful business is all about taking risks but by minimizing those risks. Even more importantly, if you wish to progress instead of being stuck in the same spot, you need to consider hiring a reputable business coach. According to experts like Mr. Scott Duffy, in this domain, motivation leads to productivity which ultimately leads to success. And so, a professional coach could be that source of motivation you need to reach new levels in your business endeavor.

So, what are you waiting for? The last thing you want is your competitors dominating the market. Hire a business coach today and gain the edge in your space.

Often the best way to find out what works in marketing is to analyze what does not work. In my business consulting firm I have helped many successful companies and some failures too. While there are many reasons for business failure, these marketing blunders are an all too common factor in startup demise. A great startup knows how to utilize technology in the best interests of the people in their company and their bottom line. For example, a local chiropractor would do well by positioning themselves on Google search with SEO (Get found online with Hari Menon Digital).

These are the worst marketing tactics I have observed small businesses use most often which result in money loss, weak sales and most critically the loss of the entrepreneur’s confidence and drive.

Learn from others entrepreneurs marketing mistakes and spare yourself a business failure.

Failing Marketing Strategies and How To Correct

More Is Better

Often called the “spray and pray” marketing program. The premise is that if you make ten sales presentations and nobody buys then you should make a hundred more of the same flawed sales presentation. The concept is if you work extra hard success will naturally follow. However, doing more of the same failing activities will only bring you more business failure. People fall into this trap because working super hard gives them the perception of progress, but it is only an illusion.

How to Correct

Instead, after those ten bad sales presentations, take a step back and review the why’s of your failure. Be humble and open to learning the truth. Ask yourself these fact-finding questions:

Are these the wrong type of target customers for your product or service?

Is your presentation compelling enough demonstrating the benefits of purchase?

Do you need additional sales training,? Are you selling in the right manner, i.e., in person or online?

Time spent in this manner will yield valuable information to adjust your marketing strategy for greater success – while ultimately spending less time and energy for better results.

Word-of-Mouth

Some entrepreneurs wrongly think that because they are so excited about their product that the world will be too. Immediately when the world hears about their new product, they will beat a path to their door with money. You think that if your Facebook followers, friends and family spread the word about your product, your cash register will start ringing. Word-of-Mouth may work in a service based business like garage door repair, but don’t expect it to work as well for a product launch. Wishful thinking that almost never happens.

Today, everybody is so saturated with information and busy with their lives and activities that they will hardly notice that your new product has arrived in the marketplace. Also, your loving family and friends may not be your target customer, nor are influencers in your industry. Thus their support will generate no buzz.

How to Correct

Before your product launches, spend time creating a community of people, both online and off-line, which are your target customers and industry influencers that have active lines of communication the public.

Then at launch time hire marketing professionals and graphic artists to create compelling, funny, and share-worthy graphics, videos, and audio about your product. Share those interesting items with your newly-created community, and your influencer contacts to get the buzz started and make sales.

All I Need Are Ads

Many new entrepreneurs take this easy, but expensive, route of advertising online, on Facebook or Google, without any other marketing strategies to launch their products. After they had spent thousands of dollars and got little results, many are so discouraged and broke that they quit and close their company. Don’t let this happen to you.

Because major sites such as Facebook and Google have made it easy to set up ad campaigns, new entrepreneurs are led to believe that they have set it up correctly. That is very far from the truth. Many of the most sophisticated and knowledgeable online entrepreneurs that I know hire dedicated specialists to set up their advertising campaigns on these sites. Unless you are an online advertising professional, you will overspend and underachieve with these types of ad campaigns.

How to Correct

A far more effective marketing strategy is to connect via social media, search engines, forums and your website with your target customers groups, called “tribes.” A great way to get started is with PlacementSEO. Your tribe is a group of your target customers with common interests and a desire for your new product. A particularly effective way to tap into your tribe is through Groups on Facebook and Linkedin.com. Make sure you optimize the performance, security and SEO efficiency of your website by moving to a strong web host such as SiteGround (see video).

Certainly, this process will take more time, legwork and effort, but less cash than clicking a few buttons and advertising. Beginning entrepreneurs need to conserve their cash as much as possible for those expenses that no amount of legwork will buy. For more information on how to find and connect with your Tribe, read, or listen to the MP3, the marketing guru Seth Godin’s book, Tribes – We need you to lead us.